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The palette method has come in handy in the past to solidify what I'm working with, and it emphasizes quick visual confirmation when I see the chosen ones side by side. Through experience I've found that when I just pick colors off a source image and don't place them side by side that many times I miss "something" in the color range.

Really, the sheet makes it easy to see if I need any "tweener" colors to finish out the design, but I do lean towards using textures to fill in any gaps in my palette.

Many thanks for this tut Silverleaf, I had bought FM8 soon after joining the guild, it was a toss up between it and CC2 (at the time, think 3 wasn't out then) i bought it cause it was cheaper. Then I shelved it for a long time cause i don't like it's fractal landmasses compared to Autorealm's.

Your work and looking back at Mark Oliva keeping the Nbos site alive got me to reinstall it and try again. Between you and Mark Oliva, you guys show what it can do. It's a shame Mark's posts seem 90+ % of the activity on the Nbos site. No insult intended to mark but I personally think its a damn shame.

Yes,(*Then Revock post on that site cause you're a member there too!*) but i can't make the software shine like you guys.

Wow, thank you so much for the very kind words. I'm pleased to hear that my small offering has inspired you to give Fractal Mapper another go. The NBOS website has some solid tutorials of their own on using the program - especially Mark's site at:

I'm short on ideas for more tutorials at the moment, but if you need some help with anything, don't hesitate to PM me here - or even start a post in the How do I??? section at the bottom of the main page of the forum.

Well, It has given me an idea to attempt to do my own world map and the stuff I'm attempting for the NWN2 server I play on in FM8, if i can do as you do in your Tut i shouldn't have to do so much with Hugin or xnview to do a whole worldmap.

I've already put my Minduril map down as an overlay in FM8, then added landmasses adjacent to it to continue my world. I'll do those in the same vein as Minduril, (which will become the whole world name instead of just the bit of it i posted) I'm sort of using my own world concept as a testing ground for the Known Lands maps i'm attempting, I've got tacit approval to redo all the world maps in relief using the techniques I've learned here.

It's not a commision or anything, It's just an appreciation of the Dm's and world they've already built that's got me wanting to refine the maps they already have. these are their maps done by another member, http://knownlands.com/maps yes I've already done my own tiny river policing of the maps, excuse my own versions when i post them since I'll stay within these originals.

I've got versions of two of those originals so far that I've never posted here, Some have me trying to do Delta's to reconcile the river illogic but hey? it'sd alot of fun, if it wasn't i wouldn't bother.

The sum total of what I've learned I hope to use in starting my own NWN2 server using Minduril as the world map, there are some nice base mods for NWN2 and I've got a simple grasp of scripting for NWN1 and 2 from my years of hosting mods on NWN1.

Well, It has given me an idea to attempt to do my own world map and the stuff I'm attempting for the NWN2 server I play on in FM8, if i can do as you do in your Tut i shouldn't have to do so much with Hugin or xnview to do a whole worldmap.

I've already put my Minduril map down as an overlay in FM8, then added landmasses adjacent to it to continue my world. I'll do those in the same vein as Minduril, (which will become the whole world name instead of just the bit of it i posted) I'm sort of using my own world concept as a testing ground for the Known Lands maps i'm attempting, I've got tacit approval to redo all the world maps in relief using the techniques I've learned here.

It's not a commision or anything, It's just an appreciation of the Dm's and world they've already built that's got me wanting to refine the maps they already have. these are their maps done by another member, http://knownlands.com/maps yes I've already done my own tiny river policing of the maps, excuse my own versions when i post them since I'll stay within these originals.

I've got versions of two of those originals so far that I've never posted here, Some have me trying to do Delta's to reconcile the river illogic but hey? it'sd alot of fun, if it wasn't i wouldn't bother.

The sum total of what I've learned I hope to use in starting my own NWN2 server using Minduril as the world map, there are some nice base mods for NWN2 and I've got a simple grasp of scripting for NWN1 and 2 from my years of hosting mods on NWN1.

This sounds like an excellent project Revock. I'd make one recommendation and that would be to start a WIP thread "once your comfortable with Fractal Mapper 8" and share your build. Nothing gets my juices flowing more than seeing someone show their creation process, and especially with it having a NeverWinter Nights point of view. Love that game.

Thanks for sharing what your plan is and how my contribution may help. You made my day.

Thanks for the very kind words. Yeah, normally I wouldn't go through and intricately create the sample boxes on the source image, but I was hoping the extra detail I show in the tutorial helps to narrow the focus of color sampling - perhaps for the beginner who isn't accustomed to such a method.

I just registered on these forums, casually making maps for my own amusement. But I had to comment, that stuff is unbelievable. I saw you asking Mark how to go about doing the under-water surface look while on this forum, and an hour later I stumbled upon this tutorial. You did an outstanding job and that's pretty impressive. Congrats on your admirable work.